Money Counter Guide

Why use a currency counter?
What should I consider before purchasing a money counter?
Counterfeit Money
Types of counterfeit detection
Glossary

Why use a currency counter?

Trying to count money by yourself can take a long time, not to mention the high possibility of counting errors. Money counters save time and money by quickly and accurately counting money. These machines can be found in banks, schools, businesses and churches.

Money counters consist of bill counters and coin counters. Some bill counters are built with counterfeit detection built into them. You will need to ask yourself a few questions before choosing a money counter that best suits you.

Money Handling Index | Back to Top

What should I consider before purchasing a currency counter?

What do you want to count?

You will need to take into account that most bill counters are designed to work with U.S. currency. Although many bill counters can count currency from other countries, the counterfeit security features may not work. You will want to investigate what security features your country uses before purchasing a bill counter.

Coin counters are also designed to work with U.S. currency. Coin counters are not built with any counterfeit detection hardware.

How often will you need to count money?

Different currency counters are built with different counting speeds. If you are counting money often, you may want to purchase a bill counter with a large duty cycle and counting speed. Purchasing more than one currency counter will help you count money even faster.

How much security do I need?

Counterfeit money is a growing problem. If you feel that you may be subject to counterfeit money now or in the future, you may want to purchase a currency counter that has built-in counterfeit detection. Counterfeit detection will let you know if the money you are counting is legitimate. Different currency counters are available with different grades of counterfeit detection.

Money Handling Index | Back to Top

Counterfeit Money

History of counterfeit money:

(From: http://www.treas.gov/usss/counterfeit.shtml)

The counterfeiting of money is one of the oldest crimes in history. Counterfeiting was once considered treasonous and was punishable by death.

During the American Revolution, the British counterfeited U.S. currency in such large amounts that the Continental currency soon became worthless. "Not worth a Continental" became a popular expression that is still heard today.

During the Civil War, one-third to one-half of the currency in circulation was counterfeit. At that time, approximately 1,600 state banks designed and printed their own bills. Each bill carried a different design, making it difficult to detect counterfeit bills from the 7,000 varieties of real bills.

A national currency was adopted in 1862 to resolve the counterfeiting problem. However, the national currency was soon counterfeited and circulated so extensively that it became necessary to take enforcement measures. Therefore, on July 5, 1865, the United States Secret Service was established to suppress the wide-spread counterfeiting of currency.

Although the counterfeiting of money was substantially suppressed after the establishment of the Secret Service, this crime still represents a potential danger to the Nation's economy.

Today, counterfeiting once again is on the rise. One reason for this is the ease and speed with which large quantities of counterfeit currency can be produced using modern photographic and printing equipment.

Money Handling Index | Back to Top

Types of Counterfeit Detection

Ultra Violet Light Detector

Currency created by a color copier or printer produces an image that rests on the surface of paper that can easily be seen when UV light is placed over it. Tiny particles of toner outside the image can also be easily seen with a UV light. Bill counters and counterfeit detectors have a UV light built into the machine. If a counterfeit bill is run through the machine, an alarm or light will alert you that the banknote is counterfeit.

Magnetic Detection or MG detection

U.S. banknotes are made with magnetic components. Several foreign currencies and travelers checks are also made with magnetic components. MG detectors are capable of detecting the magnetic components in money. When a detector does not find the presence of the magnetic components, an alarm or light will sound letting you know the money is counterfeit.

Magnifying Detection

U.S. and other foreign currencies are printed with special marks and symbols that cannot be seen without the use of a magnifier. By using a magnifier, and knowing what to look for, you can see if the bill is counterfeit. This process takes longer and is not built into automatic bill counters or counterfeit detectors.

Watermark Detection

Watermarks are marks that are specially embossed into U.S. and other foreign currencies. These watermarks can be easily seen when held up to fluorescent light. Watermarks are hard to duplicate and when fake, are easily detectable.

Lighted Reflection

Some U.S. and foreign currencies have a metallic, color changing emblem stamped into the banknote. An example is the U.S $100 bill that has a stamp in the lower right hand corner that will change from black to green. This is easily detected by the naked eye. Light reflection stamps are not detected by automatic bill counters and counterfeit detectors.

Money Handling Index | Back to Top

Glossary

Bill Counter (money counter) - bill counters are machines that quickly and accurately count bills.

Counterfeit - money that has been illegally printed or imitated.

Coin Counter - coin counters are machines that quickly and accurately count coins.

Count Speed - how quickly a currency counter is able to count bills.

Denomination - the value of a bank note.

Duty Cycle - The amount of work that a machine can handle within a given period of time.

Hopper - a tray where bills are placed before counting.

MG (Magnetic) - magnetic detection is a counterfeit measure used to detect magnetic components in currency.

UV (Ultra violet) -a type of counterfeit detection that uses UV light to detect authentic bills.

Variable Speed - a bill counter that can be set to count bills at different speeds.

Watermark - a watermark is an embossed image that can be seen when held up to a fluorescent light.

Money Handling Index | Back to Top

Phone Numbers: (7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. MST M-F)

Phone:	+1 (801) 927-3020
Toll-Free:	+1 (800) 658-8788
Fax:	+1 (801) 927-3037

Email:

Information:	info@abcoffice.com
Webmaster:	webmaster@abcoffice.com
DUNS Number: 078448164 Cage Code: 0geb8

[ Home | About ABC Office | Site Map | Contact Us | Support and Troubleshooting ]